RE Twisting 5 songs:
Songs take 3 seconds to cast.
Songs last until the third pulse after they are cast.
A pulse occurs once every 6 seconds.
There is overhead between songs (songs have to ungray, you have to start the next song, it takes some
time).
Assume 1 second between songs:
T-2 Song 1 starts
T0 Pulse 0
T1 Song 1 hits (1 up)
T2 Song 2 starts
T5 Song 2 hits (2 up)
T6 Pulse 1, Song 3 starts
T9 Song 3 hits (3 up)
T10 Song 4 starts
T12 Pulse 2
T13 Song 4 hits (4 up)
T14 Song 5 starts
T17 Song 5 hits (5 up)
T18 Pulse 3, Song 1 and 2 drop, Song 6 starts (3 up)
T21 Song 6 hits (4 up)
T22 Song 7 starts
T25 Song 7 hits (5 up)
T26 Pulse 4, Songs 3 and 4 drop (3 up)
...
So it's possible to have 5 up at once for awhile. But it's NOT possible to have 5 up at once all the
time. Do the same thing with 0 time between songs, you'll go from 4 to 6, but you'll always drop back to
4. And 0 time between songs is impossible. At some point between 0 and 1 second overhead time, it
becomes impossible to maintain 4. That assumes no missed notes. And clearly, that fractional difference
of less than a second may well be due to connection and computer power, and have nothing to do with the
competence of the player.
The way to APPEAR to get 5 up all at once is to twist in the BoH. I don't know for sure, but I suspect
the Epic and the Siren's Song also blink when they proc, so they may make it SEEM as if the Bard is
singing 5. Charm and Mez last 4 pulses, Anglitsch's Assonance lasts 10, so they can be used to bump
things up. You can with proper ordering and timing of songs, and the right weapons, have 8 effects up at
once for about 1 second, then it comes tumbling down like a house of cards.
I would also suggest that the only way another player would KNOW that a Bard was twisting 5 was if the
Bard was singing 5 buff songs, and I challenge you to come up with 5 useful non-conflicting buff songs
that are worth the work.
Kenross Cantoforjado, Virtuoso (possibly retired) of Innoruuk
PS, I went to the BotB and I had trouble keeping 3 up. We beat a pretty good team in the first round,
too. Twisting 4-5 was only possible for me when I was sitting in one place.
PPS, I've been able to consistently maintain 3 songs (I know from checking logs) even in conditions (such
as NToV) where I was receiving text messages 15-30 seconds behind the event they were referring too. This
is possible because the outgoing information in EQ is about 1/10th the size of the incoming, and the
outgoing info is pretty much a steady stream, as opposed to the huge bursts you get on incoming. So I
would never rely on the screen timer. Nice and rhythmic, just like a percussionist, is the way to do it.
John Grady wrote:
> I'm curious if any of the BOTB competing Bards, especially those that made it a couple rounds,
> have any comments. This would kinda be the acid test. If they, the truly hard-core crowd, twisted
> four or more songs when efficiency, effectiveness and quick thinking were all needed for survival,
> then I would think more seriously about it.
>
> Tzeetch
>
> --- Christopher Sanders <christopher.sanders@...> wrote: